


It Used To Be So Simple (Once Upon A Time)

by WildflowerWoods



Series: Cryptid Black Bulls [6]
Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29354274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildflowerWoods/pseuds/WildflowerWoods
Summary: A collection of short stories about the childhoods of various Black Bulls, among other things, containing my own headcanons.-There was never a monster under your bed-You are a bird, trapped in a cage-You were born without magic-In a world full of black, you are golden-You are more than just a royal-All you know how to do is win-You're stronger than you know-Something strange, not quite human
Relationships: Asta & Noelle Silva, Asta & Yami Sukehiro, Asta & Yuno (Black Clover), Black Bulls Ensemble & Yami Sukehiro, Finral Roulacase & Langris Vaude, Finral Roulacase & Yami Sukehiro, Magna Swing & Luck Voltia, Noelle Silva & Yami Sukehiro, Vanessa Enoteca & Yami Sukehiro, Yami Sukehiro & Luck Voltia, Yami Sukehiro & Magna Swing
Series: Cryptid Black Bulls [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2126286
Comments: 115
Kudos: 153
Collections: IAmStoryteller's Best of Black Clover Fic Rec





	1. To Be Great

**Author's Note:**

> The next proper instalment of the series is in the works and the first chapter should be up tomorrow or the day after, but I couldn't get this idea out of my head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm supposed to be working on the next chapter of We Know Where We Come From, but people aren't cooperating. So, have this instead.

_This is the Discworld, which travels on the back of four elephants which themselves stand on the shell of Great A’Tuin, the sky turtle._

_Once upon a time, such a universe was considered unusual and, possibly, impossible._

_But then... it used to be so simple, once upon a time._

_-Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad_

* * *

Let's talk about what it means to be great.

Some people are born great. Of those, some know it instantly, for others it takes a bit longer.

(Let's talk about a pair of brothers with the whole of space at their fingertips.)

Some people achieve greatness, intentionally or not.

(Let's talk about a princess that refuses to be left behind and a witch determined to save her friends.)

And, for some people, greatness just- happens.

(Let's talk about a boy with no magic at all.)

Nobody ever asks them if they want to be great.

(Let's talk about a woman who'd rather hide her face from the world and a boy who just wants what's best for his sister)

Nobody ever asks them if they want to have the weight of the world on their shoulders

(Let's talk about a man from a foreign land and a man with a face scarred by a curse)

Nobody ever asks them if they want to lead, to stand at the top and have hundreds looking up to them.

(Let's talk about a man with time itself in the palm of his hand)

  
  


Let's talk about power.

About having something at your fingertips, held tightly in the palm of your hand.

There are people out there who can manipulate Space and Time and Fate itself.

There are people out there who can build something from nothing.

There are people out there who can destroy entire cities with a wave of their hands.

  
  


Let's talk about control.

About turning something small into something great.

There are people out there who can capture and contain Devils.

There are people out there who can keep track of hundreds of tiny bits of mana.

There are people out there who can keep throwing magic around long after they should have run out.

  
  


Let's talk about physical strength.

About training your body to its limit.

There are people out there who can break stone with their bare hands.

There are people out there who can wield blades heavier than they are.

There are people out there who can throw people around like they're feathers.

  
  


Let's talk about what it _means_ to be great.

To be a legend.

To be something remembered throughout history.

  
  


Let's talk about what it means to come from nowhere, from nothing, and still end up stood at the top.

About how hard those people work.

  
  


Let's talk about infamy.

What it's like to be the monster under the bed.

The thing that goes bump in the night.

  
  


Greatness is not kind.

It is not gentle.

Those who are great are not harmless,

Merely peaceful

At best.

  
  


There's a house in the woods, somewhere.

Always on the move and never in the same place twice.

Inside live those some would call great.

Others call them monsters.

These people are not peaceful.

They're certainly not harmless.

They're the people hurt by the world

The ones that grew stronger despite it.

(Not _because._ Never _because_. Their pain is not what makes them strong.

Their refusal to give up is what makes them strong.

Their determination to go on _despite_ the pain is what makes them strong.

Their love for each other is what makes them strong.)

  
  


These are the ones the world calls great.

The man from a foreign land, washed up on shore and ostracised until another man came along.

A man with Space at his fingertips, disowned and cast out for being unable to attack.

A Witch with Threads and Fate in the palm of her hand, running away from a woman who locked her in a cage.

A former Noble turned convict obsessed with keeping his little sister safe and happy.

A woman treated as a servent most of her life with zero self-confidence.

A man full of fury at the dishonourable Magic Knights who murdered his father.

A man with poison in the palm of his hands running away from home.

A woman half-dwarf who'd rather eat than fight, a wolf in sheep's clothing if there were was one.

A man bedridden by a disease that drains the mana from all who come near him.

A boy with very little mana and fire in the palm of his hands, determined to set the world ablaze.

A boy with more mana than he knows what to do with and lightning at his fingertips determined to fight the world.

A royal looked down upon and thrown aside for her lack of control

A boy with no magic at all.

  
  


The lost and the broken and the forgotten.

The outcasts and runaways.

The freaks

(Of nature or otherwise)

The ones with nowhere else to go.

  
  


This is what it means to be great.

It means having those around you act like they know you when they don't.

It means having the world ignoring the fact that they once hurt you.

It means having everyone pretend that they were always kind.

It means having responsibility you never asked for.

  
  


(Is it what you wanted?)

(Is it everything you asked for?)

(Is it everything you thought it would be?)

((I just want to go home))

  
  


Let's talk about what it means to be great.

Of being born great.

Of achieving greatness.

Of just stumbling across it.

  
  


Let's talk about a hideout in the woods.

Of the people inside it,

the ones they call great.

The ones hurt by the world

The ones offered it.

(They'd rather have each other)


	2. There Was Never A Monster Under Your Bed (Finral)

There was never a monster under your bed. There couldn't be a monster under your bed, not when the monster ruled the whole house.

The monster is a man with harsh eyes who is never happy.

The monster is a woman with a wicked smile, mouth dripping praises that are never, ever for you.

The monsters are the people who point and whisper, the ones that call you useless and worthless.

The monster is _not_ the little boy beside you with eyes like the sky.

There was never a monster under your bed.

Growing up there was always you. You and your little brother.

You're half-brothers really, you don't share a mother, but he is still your little brother.

You do everything you can to help, to shield him from the monsters.

He doesn't need it.

Your little brother is perfect, he's everything your father wanted him to be.

You are not.

There was never a monster under your bed.

Despite being the older brother, you're a failure. According to your father, you can't do anything right.

Your step-mother cries praises for your little brother, but you don't think she actually loves him.

Your little brother is the prodigy, the golden son, the one who will go far. You're the prototype, the black sheep, the failure.

Your brother is the son of royalty. Your mother was little more than a commoner.

Compared to him, you are nothing.

There was never a monster under your bed.

Your little brother climbs higher and higher and higher.

You fall lower and lower with every step he climbs.

You have the same type of magic, but his is so much stronger, his is exactly what your father wants.

He can destroy anything with a wave of his hand.

All you can do is make portals.

All you can do is take people places.

Pathetic.

There was never a monster under your bed.

The monsters ruled the house.

The monsters lived inside your head.

Then-

Then _he_ comes.

The man from a foreign land.

The man cloaked in shadows.

He comes, and he offers a hand, and doors that were previously closed open.

He wraps part of his darkness around your shoulders and, you're _home_.

There's no little boy with eyes like the sky, but there are smiling faces, and laughter, and a family you built for yourself.

It's little, and it's far from perfect (there's no little boy with eyes like the sky), far from finished, but it's _yours_.

There was never a monster under your bed.

The monster ruled the house your bed was in, but you're no longer there.

The monsters can't reach you anymore.


	3. You Are A Bird, Trapped In A Cage (Vanessa)

You are a bird. You are a bird trapped in a cage.

There's a way out. That's what the queen says

You have the key, you just need to find it.

You can control fate, you can change destiny, or so she says.

You are a bird trapped in a cage.

You sit there, staring out the window for days on end, talking to creatures you made from your own magic.

What use are threads in changing fate?

You sit there and you watch the sky, watch the other witches flying past, talking about everything there was to see and do in the outside world.

You sit there and you _want_.

You are a bird, trapped in a cage.

You beg the queen to let you go, to let you run through a field, to lay on the ground and watch the stars.

She says no.

She always says no.

You want freedom.

To get freedom you have to change fate.

You cannot change fate.

You are a bird, trapped in a cage.

The days are the same, and they are endless.

You sit there, you watch the sky, you talk to yourself.

You try and fail to change fate over and over.

You cannot.

The queen will not let you go.

You are a bird trapped in a cage.

Then-

Then _he_ comes.

The man from a foreign land.

The man cloaked in shadows.

He breaks the walls of the tower, he breaks the bars of the cage.

He leaves, and you are left with a choice.

He gave you a chance to see the world.

You are a bird, trapped in a cage.

You go.

You leave your cage.

You follow him, slower than most of the strays he picked up, but you follow nonetheless.

He wraps part of his darkness around your shoulders and you're _home_.

There's smiles, and friends, and whatever you want to do at your fingertips.

There's a family, and it's yours.

Some of the pieces are missing, they won't turn up for years, but what you've got now's pretty good.

You were a bird, trapped in a cage.

But the cage is broken. The tower is gone.

You're finally free.


	4. You Were Born Without Magic (Asta)

You were born without magic.

That is a fact.

You will never be able to use magic.

In a world where everyone can, you are unique.

The world refuses to let you forget that fact.

You are magicless but you refuse to let that mean that you are powerless.

You were born without magic.

Your best friend, your brother, your rival, the person you share everything with, is blessed by the mana.

He has more magic than he knows what to do with.

There isn't even a drop of power in your veins.

This will not stop you.

You were born without magic.

You're going to become the wizard king anyway.

You remember that night in the snow, where a drunk man tried to take your best friend's pendant.

You remember fighting with everything you had.

You remember your brother swearing to never cry again.

You remember your promise to race to the top.

You may not have magic, but you something the others don't.

You have a desire to get better.

You have a refusal to give up.

You have pure, stubborn determination.

You were born without magic.

You turn fifteen, it's time to get your grimoire.

You head to the tower, hoping and praying that this will be the thing to spark your magic.

Your rival gets one with a four-leaf clover on it.

You don't get anything.

You were born without magic.

A man attacks you and your rival, he tries to steal your rival's grimoire.

You rush to his aid.

You're magicless, but you're not powerless.

You may not have a grimoire, but you've been training your body for years.

You can do this.

You were born without magic.

You fail.

The chains are too strong, you stand no chance against them.

The man whispers of failure, of giving up, poison falling from his lips.

You believe him.

You're a magicless failure, what were you thinking?

Your brother does not.

He yells, commands you to get back to your feet.

Reminds you that you don't know how to give up.

You were born without magic.

A grimoire appears before you, sword handle already extended.

You grab it.

Power floods through you, and you have to wonder; 

_Is this how everyone else feels when they use magic?_

You are unstoppable.

You were born without magic.

You have a grimoire anyway, a sword that can cut through magic in your hand.

You're going to become the Wizard King before your rival, your best friend, your brother can.

You have a grimoire.

You have a sword that can cut through magic.

You're the strongest person you've ever met.

You're unstoppable.

You were born without magic.

No captain wants you on their squad.

You stand there, in the middle of the crowd.

They're screaming at you to give up, to walk away.

You refuse.

Then-

Then _he_ comes.

The man from a foreign land.

The man cloaked in shadows.

He insults you, mocks you, and then-

Then he says he believes in you.

That he thinks you, magicless but not powerless, can become the Wizard King.

You follow him through the portal.

He wraps part of his darkness around your shoulders and, you're _home_.

You were born without magic.

Your captain believes in you anyway.

Your squad supports you anyway.

You may be magicless, but you're not powerless.

You are a Black Bull and your magic is never giving up.


	5. In A World Full Of Black, You Are Golden (Langris)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's not a Black Bull, but he fits the shitty childhood criteria. Besides, it's pretty hard to talk about Finral's childhood without, at some point, talking about Langris'

In a world full of black, you are golden.

You are the golden child. The successful son. The prodigy.

Your older brother is everything you're not.

You are superior.

He is inferior

Your parents never let either of you forget it.

In a world full of black, you are golden.

Life stays like that for years, the facts never change.

You are the favoured child.

Your mother goes on and on about how brilliant you are.

Your father praises your success.

Your parents don't care about you any more than they do your brother.

Not really.

You are something to show off, something to be paraded about.

Nothing more.

In a world full of black, you are golden.

You're not stupid, you hear the whispers.

You hear how all the servants prefer your brother over you.

You hear how he's so kind and gentle when you're- you're not.

Even the woman you're supposed to marry prefers him over you.

You are the better brother in every way as far as your parents are concerned.

He's the better brother in every way that actually matters.

In a world full of black, you are golden.

You get your grimoires, your brother and then you.

You join the magic knights.

Your mother doesn't want to let your brother try, she says it will bring shame down on the house.

Your brother goes anyway.

He joins a new squad, one lead by one of the Wizard King's two hand picked and trained proteges.

He vanishes into the shadows with nothing but a quiet goodbye between you where your parents couldn't hear.

The next year, it's your turn.

Your join the squad lead by the Wizard King's second protegie, the younger of the two.

You join and you rise through the ranks, doing mission after mission, earning star after star.

It's not enough.

You have to be the best.

If you're not the best, then what are you?

In a world full of black, you are golden.

You make it to vice-captain.

You are vice-captain of the strongest Magic Knight Squad there is.

Your brother was made the vice-captain of his squad first.

Vice-captain isn't enough, not if you can't beat him.

 _You're_ not enough.

In a world full of black, you are golden.

The titles of black sheep and golden child are literal now.

Your brother is wrapped in shadows whilst you are draped in light.

You may both be vice-captains, but he is little more than transport for the worst squad.

You're better than him.

(You have to be)

Your brother is disowned, cast out of the house.

He doesn't fight it.

He walks away without a word, his shoulder slightly hunched.

(You don't think you've ever seen him fully relaxed)

Your brother is stripped of his name, of his title, of his inheritance.

You are, officially, the heir and only child of the house.

You both saw it coming.

(that doesn't make it hurt any less)

In a world full of black, you are golden.

There was never a monster under your bed.

You never had anything to fear, not the way he did.

You left the house anyway.

You've found somewhere else, somewhere, dare you say it, _safe_.

Somewhere your parents can't reach you.

Somewhere with people who actually care about you as a person.

(Something's missing. You try not to think about the little boy with galaxies in his eyes)

In a world full of black, you are golden.

You are the best at everything you do.

You have to be.

But maybe-

Maybe you don't _want_ to be.


	6. You're More Than Just A Royal (Noelle)

You're more than just a royal.

You are the youngest daughter of one of the three royal houses.

Your older brothers and sister are all part of the same Magic Knight Squad.

Your eldest brother is a Magic Knight Squad captain.

You can't even control your magic.

You're more than just a royal.

Everywhere you turn people mock you.

Their whispers follow in your footsteps, weighing you down.

The whispers are nothing compared to what your older siblings have said to your face.

Their words are like a rope tied around your neck, a sack of bricks around your leg.

You can supposedly control water, but most days it feels like you're drowning.

(You have more mana than the three of them combined)

You're more than just a royal.

You turn fifteen, you get your grimoire.

Your younger older brother mocks you, points out how thin it is compared to his or your other siblings'.

Your eldest brother refuses to let you join his squad.

Instead, he sends you off to the worst squad there is.

Their captain is a rough man, Dark magic at his fingertips and a sword at his side but-

For the first time, there's someone who doesn't look down on you.

He wraps part of his darkness around your shoulders and you're _home_.

Not that you realise it at first.

You're more than just a royal.

You meet the other newbie and one of your seniors.

They're both commoners from all the way out at the edge of the forsaken realm.

A part of you whispers that they're not even worthy to lay eyes on you.

It sounds like your sister.

You ignore it.

You're more than just a royal.

You throw your robe at their feet, proclaiming that you quit before storming off.

They're commoners, no, not even that.

They're peasants.

They'll still make fun of you, just like everyone else.

Better to leave before they get the chance.

You're more than just a royal.

The other newbie follows you though.

He finds where your training.

He opens his mouth to talk, but all you can hear are the words of your older siblings echoing in your mind.

You lash out.

You lose control.

You're more than just a royal.

You're trapped in your own magic.

Your siblings' words echo in your ears, you can't block them out no matter how hard you try.

You're drowning.

Nobody is coming to save you.

Or so you think.

You're more than just a royal.

The other newbie comes out of nowhere.

He slices through your magic with his blade.

The water implodes and-

You're falling.

You both are.

A portal spits you both out on the ground and all you can do is curl in on yourself.

 _Here it comes_ , you think, _the mocking._

The commoner you ran into before, the fire one, approaches.

He looks at you and he calls you a failure.

Then-

Then he gestures behind himself and-

"We're a whole sqaud of failures"

The voice of your younger older brother sounds in your ear, calling it a fitting place for you.

You squash the voice.

You're more than just a royal.

The robe of shadows is back around your shoulders.

They're all talking to you, offering their help.

You're a royal- you're supposed to be above them but-

This is a squad of failures.

You're all on equal ground.

You smile.

You're more than just a royal.

You siblings can keep their superiority and their castle.

You don't need them or it.

You're a Black Bull.

And you've finally come home.


	7. Here is (Yami)

Here is a boy, with the whole of Space at his fingertips.

Here is a witch, with Threads and fate at hers.

Here is Cotton and Poison and Mirrors

Transformation and Buldings that move.

Here is Fire and Lightning, side by side and inseperable

Here is Ash and Traps and anger at the world.

Here is a squad, a team, a family.

They are yours, yours to protect and watch over and teach.

Yours to lead.

Here is a boy with no magic in his veins but more stubborn determination that he knows what to do with.

Here is a girl with more power than a human should reasonably be able to contain.

They are broken when you find them, or they find you. It isn't always clear which.

They are broken and lost, hurt by the world.

They whisper of towers and cages and parents that are never pleased.

They mutter about siblings and legacies and expectations they can never live up to.

They spit tales of murdered parents, disloyal allies and being hated for what others couldn't understand.

You wrap them in shadows, give them somewehere to hide, to recover, to grow strong.

You give them people they can lean on.

You watch as they bloom from small, broken people into unstoppable beings.

You take in the people hurt by the world, and you give the world something to fear.

They listen to nobody, not even the Wizard King. They barely listen to you most days.

Here is a cowardly flirt, a drunken stipper.

Here is a glutton, a whisperer,a sister-obesser.

Shyness and Illness.

Here is a Cheery Berserker and a Pyromaniac Delinquent, always together.

Here is a supermage determined to right wrongs.

Here are the shattered pieces of them all.

They are yours, and you take it upon yourself to help piece them all back together.

Yours to save.

No, not save, You don't save them. You help them save themselves.

Here is a boy who cannot give up.

Here is a girl doubting everything about herself.

Here is the shadows you wrap around their shoulders

Here is them, finding their own ways to be strong.

(There is a boy with shadows in the palm of his hand.

There is a boy, cast away and washed up on a foriegn shore.

There is a man with stars in his eyes who offers a hand

There is the boy taking it)

Here are the people the world dismisses as useles.

Here is them, saving it.


	8. All You Know How To Do Is Win (Luck)

All you know how to do is win.

It's the only thing you do that makes your mother happy

It's the only thing you can do to stop her hitting you.

It's the only thing you're good at

You don't cry

You don't get upset

You smile all the time

All you know how to do is win

Your mother demands to know why you aren't normal.

Why you can't just do what she tells you to

Why you can't get mad or cry

Why you won't stop smiling

Why you're a defective freak

All you know how to do is win.

The whole village calls you strange

They claim there's something unnatural about you

They hurl insults and magic

They refuse to come near you unless you absolutely have to.

You keep smiling

All you know how to do is win

You do the impossible

You beat a noble

You, a commoner without a father, beat a noble.

They're all scared of you now.

They flinch when you walk past

All you know how to do is win

Your mother praises you for winning

For the first time, she's happy with you.

She calls you powerful, special.

She asks you to win again.

You do.

All you know how to do is win.

You win and win and win

Beating classmate after classmate

Defeating noble after noble.

You climb higher and higher with your mother's praises ringing in your ears.

You are unstoppable

All you know how to do is win

Your mother dies.

You're alone in the world

You don't stop smiling

Tears brim in your eyes, and you keep smiling.

The others avoid you even more.

All you know how to do is win

You get your grimoire

Magic, lightning, has always come easily to you

Now it sparks off you without any conscious thought.

You go for the Magic Knight exams

All you know how to do is win

There are hundreds of people there

Most of them are weak, but there's a few that are strong.

There's the eight captain's on the balcony.

There's a few nobles out in the crowd.

A boy with an impressive amount of fireballs

And there's two mages right at the top of the arena.

A shadow mage and a spatial mage

You challenge them.

All you know how to do is win.

The stronger of the two turns out to be the Captain of the Black Bulls

He finds the fact that you challenged him hilarious

He says he likes you

He offers you a spot on his squad

You step through the portal

He wraps part of his darkness around your shoulders and, you're _home_.

All you know how to do is win

You're not the only newbie that year

Just as new as you is another mage from the exam

The one with an impressive amount of fireballs

He's fun to wind up.

All you know how to do is win

Spending time with the fire mage is easy

He never backs down from a fight

He always rises to your challenge

He doesn't find the fact that you don't stop smiling strange

You electrocute him, steal his food, taunt him.

He comes right back at you with everything he's got.

All you know how to do is win

It becomes strange to see you without the fire mage.

You're a pair, unbeatable when you work together

Unstoppable when you fight each other.

You push each other higher and higher

It's- it's new. Strange

You've survived this long alone

You fight to win.

You win so that your mother will love you

But maybe- maybe you don't need her love.

All you know how to do is win.

You're not alone any more

You have people to help you win

You're part of a squad

One half of a pair.

All you know how to do is win

With your fire mage at your side, you're unbeatable.

You're never going to lose again.


	9. You're Stronger Than You Know (Magna)

You're stronger than you know.

You're a commoner.

In the grand scheme of things, you have very little mana.

You will never be able to throw around grand spires of flames

You will never be able to burn an entire forest with one spell

You will never be able to summon an elemental spirit

You simply don't have the mana for it.

What you do have, however, is control.

You're stronger than you know.

You're a commoner

Son and grandson and great-grandson of commoners.

Even for a commoner, your mana levels are low.

The only thing you can summon with any great strength are fireballs.

They're small things, sputtering out before they can get very big

But they do an awful lot of damage if you throw them

You're stronger than you know

Rayaka believes in raising children communally.

You spend your days running wild, burning anything that catches your eye.

There are others, but none that stick out

None with the same desire to prove themselves that you have.

None that refuse to stay in the village their whole lives.

You're stronger than you know

You get your grimoire

You get your grimoire and you think you're a big shot

You think you can do anything now

You travel to the nearby village and try to take over.

(You're fifteen.

You're fifteen, dumb and reckless.

What else did they expect?)

The leader there kicks your ass.

You don't let that stop you.

You're stronger than you know

You keeping coming back.

The village leader kicks your ass

Over and over and over.

This pattern repeats for six months and then-

He says you should go for the Magic Knights.

You might have less mana than most, but your control more than makes up for it.

You're stronger than you know.

The village leader hands you his grimoire holder,

He says he believes in you.

That you can do it

You go.

You're stronger than you know.

You make it.

You're a magic knight.

You thought you might not

Nobody put their hand up for you.

The Black Bulls had already taken the powerful lightning mage

You're prepared to go home

To come back and try again

(The old village leader believes in you.

You'll come back as many times as it takes)

A portal opens up.

You step through it

You step through it and you're faced with him.

The man from a foreign land

The man cloaked in shadows

The Captain of the Black Bulls.

He wraps part of his darkness around your shoulders and you're _home_.

You're stronger than you know.

The first person you meet outside the captain and vice-captain is the lightning mage

He electrocutes you.

Then laughs about it.

You throw some fireballs back

Thus starts the rivalry.

You're stronger than you know

The lightning mage is always trying to wind you up.

He steals your food, your stuff, even your robes.

He electrocutes and taunts you

You come right back with everything you have.

It's common to find the two of you going at it again

To see you throwing fireballs while he dodges.

You're not quite sure when you became a pair

When you and the lightning mage stopped being two people who worked together often and became an actual duo

You can't say that you mind it though.

He pushes you to try harder.

To be better.

You push him right back.

You're stronger than you know.

You're a commoner.

You're the son and grandson and great-grandson of commoners

You're also a Magic Knight.

You have less mana than most, but you have more control.

You have fire at your fingertips and lighting at your side.

You're one half of an unstoppable pair.

There's a fire in you, a determination to prove yourself, to _win_ , that will never go out.

You're a Black Bull.

And any who doubt you will get a fireball to the face.


	10. Of Secrets And History

On quiet nights after long missions, when the rest of the Black Bulls had retreated to their personal rooms for the evening and the common area was all but abandoned, they would sit on the sofas and drink.

They would laugh and joke and mess around, let go of their troubles for a few hours.

Later on in the evening, when they were too far gone to care, Finral and Vanessa would start talking, hushed whispers and quiet murmurs, snatched words and fragmented sentences, speaking with caution, as if they could bring their past to the present merely by mentioning it.

Finral murmured of a cold, empty house, a man that was never happy and a little boy with bright blue eyes.

Vanessa whispered of a bird cage, friends made out of thread and a spell she could never do.

Years down the line, Noelle would sometimes come down and join them, talking almost inaudibly, like she was sharing a secret that should never see the light of day, about a giant palace, a dead mother and cruel older siblings.

Occasionally, after the worst missions, where they drank far more than normal, Yami would speak.

Tales of a boy lost at sea who washed up alone on an unknown shore, stuck in a country he knew nothing about.

Of being shunned for what other's couldn't understand, for having a magic they'd never seen before.

Of having to learn how to read and write and speak from scratch for the second time.

And even later in the night, when they'd run out of drinks and were balancing on the edge of unconsciousness, Yami spoke of a man in a grey robe with stars in his eyes.

A man who looked at the lost boy and saw something worth nurturing in a child cast off by the world.

A man who helped the castaway and gave him a home and, later, helped him build a family of his own

A man who came out of nowhere and lit a path through the darkness, an act Yami would never be able to repay.

When the morning came, they pretended like the conversations never happened, but they never forgot.


	11. Something Strange, Not Quite Human (The Black Bulls)

The Black Bulls are myths, legends, something out of a fairy tale.

They haunt the night, they lurk in the shadows

They never, ever, show their faces

As far as the majority of the Noble Realm is concerned, they don't exist

They're a joke between the various Magic Knight squads

There are even several knights who believe that rumour to be true

And, when their existence cannot be denied, they stop saying _Joke_

Instead, they start screaming _Monster_

As far as the Common Realm is concerned, they are- well, they exist.

They turn up when a call for help is ignored.

They save the day and then vanish before they can be thanked.

The common realm whispers _Spirit_

And moves on.

As far as the Forsaken Realm is concerned?

Well, they know better.

(They raised some, after all)

  
  


To those who know the Black Bulls, they know there's something going on.

There's something- _off_ about them.

Something not quite human.

Their smiles are a bit too wide

Their teeth are a bit too sharp

Their eyes deeper than they should be.

Fingers that move just a bit too quickly

More stamina and skill than they should reasonably have

Shadows that aren't quite shadows.

There's something strange about their mana too

Something- almost otherworldly in nature.

But, that's what happens when one lives the way they do.

  
  


They have a Royal among their ranks, some Nobles too.

That is not uncommon for a Magic Knight squad though.

They have Commoners and Peasants- all fairly standard these days

But then- then there are the others.

They have a Witch- far rarer

And a few other not-quite-humans.

A girl who is half Dwarf

And a boy with a Devil.

Even their Captain isn't quite what everyone else would call human.

Then again, none of them are really.

Not any more.

(Maybe they never were)

  
  


Their Captain holds darkness and shadows in the palm of his hand.

The one widely acknowledged as Vice-Captain has all of Space at his fingertips.

Their Witch can change and control fate itself

And their half-Dwarf can _eat mana_.

Their Royal has more power than any one human could reasonably posses, never mind control

And their Devil Host? He has no mana at all. Instead, he cuts through it with a singly swing of his sword.

Their base is always on the move, controlled by a man who drains mana from all who get close.

They have a woman who knew the first Wizard King, a woman who can open any door, seal anything away for eternity.

Even the rest of their squad (Nobles and Commoners and Peasants) have more mana and control than one would expect.

This is what the Clover Kingdom hides in its shadows.

Do you remember those tales your parents used to tell you?

About the humans with four arms and two heads?

The ones that scared the gods so much they were split into two

And would spend the rest of eternity searching for each other?

I heard they have one such pair.

Fire and Lightning, strong apart but unbeatable together.

(To hurt one is to die at the hands of the other)

  
  


Or how about the little girl?

The one that didn't listen to her mother and strayed from the path?

The one the wolf tried to eat?

They have one of those, shepherding her sheep, only-

On the inside, she's a wolf too.

  
  


Or maybe you've heard of the princess, trapped in her tower?

The princess locked away in a birdcage?

The princess, who, when given the chance bolted for freedom?

I heard that their escaped princess has nine lives.

Or possibly you recognise the tale of the princess cursed to a bird better.

The one forced into a form that wasn't hers

That was stuck in it until she was reunited with the man she loved.

  
  


Or, if you haven't heard of her, maybe you've heard the other princess tale.

The tale of the princess cast out by her family, for no reason she could ever understand.

  
  


Or perhaps you've heard of the girl bullied ruthlessly by her stepsisters

Who transformed herself into one of them and ran away into the night

Finding her own prince along the way, not that she needed him.

  
  


Or maybe- maybe you've heard about the boy just down the road.

The one whose parents are so disappointed in him.

He's nothing compared to his little brother after all.

  
  


Or the boy who lives in the mansion

The family that scares everyone

They're not _normal_. What are they doing here?

  
  


Or maybe he lives alone

And all that go near him lose their power altogether.

  
  


Maybe you've heard of the Super mage.

A vengeful spirit formed out of hatred and despair

A man determined to put those who think themselves above him in their places.

  
  


Or maybe you've heard the tale of the boy from a foreign land

The one that washed up on shore all alone

The one that was hated and outcast for having a power nobody could understand

(It's better to be nice to the creatures that can kill you)

  
  


There are lots of tales about the Black Bulls.

Some of them false,

Most of them true.

  
  


If you see a black hood on the battlefield,

 _Run_.

It might not be too late.

If you see a bull's skull outlined in gold,

 _Pray_.

They might just spare you.

If you see the smiling face under the hood,

I'm sorry.

There's nothing that can save you.

  
  


The Black Bulls aren't like the other Magic Knight squads.

They're different.

Made up of outcasts and freaks, of nature or otherwise

Of failures and screwups

(A squad of things no mere human could ever understand)

  
  


The Spade Kingdom calls them myths.

The Diamond Kingdom names them legends

The Heart Kingdom considers them to be fairytales.

The Clover Kingdom, however-

The Noble Realm cries _Monster_

The Common Realm whispers _Spirit_

The Forsaken Realm knows better.


End file.
